Is it cruel to dock a puppy’s tail?
No, it’s not cruel, but it is unnecessary for most dogs.
Docking a puppy’s tail indicates to remove a portion of the tail, normally when the pup is only a few days old.
Breeds such as cocker spaniels and Rottweilers generally have their tails docked in the United States. (Tail docking is illegal in some countries.)
I bring this topic up because we have a Weimaraner puppy. His tail was docked when he was just a few days old.
His tail meets the American Kennel Club’s breed conventional for the Weimaraner:
“Tail: Docked. At maturity it must measure around 6 inches with a tendency to be light rather than heavy and must be carried in a manner expressing confidence and sound temperament. A non-docked tail shall be penalized.”
I knew our breeder would be docking our puppy’s tail (she does it herself). If that were a problem for me, I would’ve gotten a puppy someplace else.
Why are some dogs’ tails docked in the United States?
You’re going to get a different answer depending on who you ask and what breed you’re referring to.
I’m no breed expert, but here are some straightforward reasons for docking a dog’s tail:
To meet the AKC’s breed conventional (see the Weim example above)
To help a working pet dog do her job or to stop injury on the job. For example, a Weimaraner’s thin, whiplike tail could be split open while working in heavy brush.
Americans like the look of a docked tail on some breeds because that’s what we’re used to seeing (cocker spaniels, Rottweilers, etc.)
If you’re an expert on a certain breed, I’d appreciate it if you could share why your breed generally has a docked tail.
Every breed is different. Here are a few examples:
Tail docking for vizslas as working dogs
The vizsla is a reddish-colored hunting pet dog bred for pointing and retrieving. The breed has a lot of similarities to a Weimaraner.
According to breeder Florence Duggan, the vizsla’s tail is generally docked in the united states for safety reasons.
“A long tail could easily get broken while running through thick underbrush and in a heavily wooded area,” she said. “The same reasoning is used for the removal of dew claws.”
Now, injuring the tail in the field might sound silly if you never take your pet dog hunting. Until you’ve seen a severe tail injury like I have, I think it’s hard to understand this can be a real worry for some breeds. a lot more on that below.
Tail docking for Parson Russell terriers
Annette Gilliam is a breeder of Parson Russell terriers, another breed with a generally docked tail in the united states due to its history as a working dog. Her dogs are not pictured, but you can view her web site here.
She said historically the Parson Russell terrier was developed to go on fox hunts in England.
The “terrier-man” would carry the terrier in a bag while riding horseback running with the fox hound, she said. When the fox would go into a hole in the ground to hide, the terrier-man would take the terrier out and it would run into the hole after the fox to make it come out.
She said if the fox and the terrier did not come out of the hole, the terrier-man would dig and pull the terrier out by the tail. This is why they wanted the tail to be as long as a man’s hand.
Today, it’s illegal to use dogs for fox hunting in England, and Gilliam said she doesn’t know any individual who goes fox hunting in the U.S.
“It is not physically needed to dock tails now anywhere,” she said. “Some people like the look so they still do it.”
How is tail docking usually done?
Gilliam said she docks the Parson Russell terrier pups herself when they are between 3 and 5 days old, although she often leaves tails undocked depending on who is getting the puppies.
“You clamp a hemostat where you want to dock, wait 1 to 2 minutes for circulation to cease, then cut with sharp scissors below the hemostat,” she said. “They never bleed.”
Is this uncomfortable for the puppies? Jeg spurgte.
“Some puppies yelp when the hemostat is first applied, but then they stop,” she said. “Some don’t notice. They don’t feel the cut because the nerves are numbed by the hemostat.”
This isn’t the only way it’s done.Our puppy’s breeder sends me pictures of the pups every day, and by day 3 the little person had a band securely bound around the idea of his tail.
I have to say this was a bit traumatizing for me at first. but a few days later, the idea appeared to have already fallen off (or maybe it was cut off), seemingly no big deal.
She sends me videos of the puppies snuggling with mommy nearly daily, and they alwayS synes fredelig, fed og glad.
Hale, der docking gennem en veterinararianDuggan, sagde, at nogle Vizsla -opdrættere også dækker halerne selv, men meget bruger en dyrlæge til og har haler, der er anbragt og dugklør fjernet på samme tid.
Jeg spurgte hende, om dyrlæger normalt bruger anæstesi til hale -dockingproceduren.
”Nogle dyrlæger bruger en lokalbedøvelse,” sagde hun. ”Men masser af fornemmelse af, at hvis det gøres ved 3 dages alder, er smerten minimal, og der er ikke behov for anæstesi. Risikoen ved at blive bedøvet opvejer den minimale smerte. ”
Gilliam kender også til opdrættere, der kan lide at gennemgå en dyrlæge og nogle, der kan lide at gøre det selv.
”Jeg tror, at folk, der ikke opdrætter meget, er meget mere tilbøjelige til at gå til en dyrlæge eller har en erfaren opdrætterpal, gør det for dem,” sagde hun.
I sit tilfælde sagde hun, at hun havde en ven og mentor, der ville komme og gøre halen, indtil hun selv lærte teknikken.
Den tid, jeg var vidne til en haleskade
En af grundene, der ofte er citeret til hale -docking, er at stoppe skader i marken for jagthunde. Jeg tror, dette er en legitim bekymring, afhængigt af den slags arbejde, du planlægger at udføre med din hund.
Jeg har aldrig været vidne til, at en kæledyrshund blev såret i marken (jeg jager ikke), men for mange år siden arbejdede jeg på en boarding -kennel og en af hundene der – et gult laboratorium med en pisk af en hale – ville ramme hende Halen på kædeledets sider af hendes pen, indtil den blødede.
Vi forsøgte at sikre hende ved at hænge tæpper, men en eftermiddag gik jeg forbi hendes pen og observerede blod overalt, og da jeg kom nærmere, så jeg, at hun havde delt halen, så de øverste 3 tommer var dinglende, split ideal gennem knoglen.
Forestil dig, at hvis du skulle hugge et træ ned, slå det gennem midten og i et par sekunder hænger det inden du deler sig i to.
De øverste 3 inches af hendes hale var dinglende, knoglen eksponeret.
Jeg tog hende selvfølgelig til dyrlægen og forsøgte at holde hendes hale ved basen i lobbyen for at holde hende stille.
Dyrlægen kiggede et kig på hvalpen og sagde med det samme, at halen skulle amputeres; Det var første gang, jeg hørte udtrykket “glad hale.”
Jeg har hørt det mange gange siden.
Min egen kæledyrshund ess rammer halen på væggene ved hoveddøren og cirka hvert andet år eller deromkring blod sprøjter overalt. Det er aldrig en big deal og kræver aldrig veterinær opmærksomhed, men han har en tendens til at skade halen.
Måske er det en laboratorie ting. Sjove, laboratorier er ikke en race med traditionelt anskaffede haler.
Min mening om haledocking
Jeg prøver ikke at retfærdiggøre Tail Docking på den ene eller den anden måde. Jeg tror, det er et spørgsmål om individuel mening og tjekke din livsstil med din egen specielle hund.
Det meste af tiden er haledocking rent kosmetisk (og fjollet). Men som jeg sagde, er vores hvalpes hale allerede forankret, og jeg kunne virkelig pleje mindre. Hvis det var op til mig, ville han have en lang hale, men jeg respekterer vores opdrætters ønsker.
Til hver hendes egen.
Opdatering: Jeg vil gerne nævne et sidste punkt. En af mine faste læsere Sean påpegede i kommentarerne nedenfor, at hunde bruger deres haler til at kommunikere!
Deres haler er så afgørende for at udtrykke sandsynligvis endda meget mere, end vi er klar over, især når de hilser hinanden. Jeg er enig med ham, at dette er et afgørende aspekt at overveje, og en stærk grund til, at masser af kæledyrshundelskere er imod hale -docking.
OK, nu ville jeg meget gerne høre dine tanker …
Hvad synes du? Er det grusomt at dokke en hvalphale? Eller er det stadig vigtigt?
Lad mig vide!
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